Warning: This article contains discussion of grooming, enticing of minors, and inappropriate dialogues with children. Reader discretion is advised.
If you’re looking for a nice, uplifting read to restore your faith in people and the world at large, boy, have you stumbled upon the wrong article. May I recommend the time a daredevil disabled cat that decided to climb a canyon or the big sister who played a way too dark prank on her little brother.
If you are, for some reason, searching for something to leave you disgusted and furious in equal measure, however, then go right ahead.
TikTok user Shasty Leah stunned everyone on the app when she shared not just the horrendous story of how a sixth-grade girl had been sent wildly inappropriate and troubling texts by her own teacher, but the school board and the sheriff’s department’s atrocious response to the situation. To put aside our distaste over this whole sorry scenario for a moment, though, it has to be said that Leah’s composure while recounting this tale is incredible — most of us would be absolutely fuming as we spoke about this awful injustice.
“Imagine a 54-year-old man giving their cellphone number to your sixth-grade child?” she began her video, ensuring no one was going to keep on scrolling. Leah goes on to explain that the male teacher handed out his phone number to the child in question and three other girls in her class so they could contact him “anytime that they need.”
“Meanwhile,” she continued. “[He is] sending ‘good night’ texts, ‘good morning’ texts, ‘how was your day?’ texts, sending songs that remind [him] of them. To me, this is very inappropriate… I think it’s enticing a minor, is my personal opinion,” Leah stated, with thinly veiled contempt.
I think it’s safe to say that (hopefully) everyone watching this TikTok agrees with Leah on this fact, so her choice to qualify her comments in this way comes across a little strange. Her wording and attitude makes a lot more sense, though, when she revealed what happened when the teacher was reported and evidence was provided of his “dozens, and I mean dozens” of texts — which include telling a child that Sam Hunt’s “Body like a Back Road” reminded him of her (no, really).
“You report it to the school,” Leah explained, still talking in the hypothetical, “and the school in turn pulls all four girls in… Those girls admit to being treated so much differently from the rest of the students… But here’s the plot twist: the teacher is being called a victim in this and the four students are being called ‘suspects.'”
According to Leah, it was determined that the sixth-grade teacher could not be charged because he had done “nothing wrong” in giving his phone number out. That’s despite Leah alleging that his texts to these four 11-12-year-olds included phrases such as “How was your morning, beautiful?” and “Sweet dreams, beautiful.”
Just in case you thought you’d gone through the Twilight Zone and found yourself in another dimension where this kind of thing is acceptable, the comments to Leah’s video make it plain that, nope, everyone else is in agreement that it is galling that the authorities would not only allow the teacher’s behavior to go unpunished, but are blaming the children. As one person from a sane school observed: “my teachers in high school wouldn’t even accept Facebook friend requests from students until after we graduated.”
Obviously, if the school isn’t going to do anything, then something needs to be done. Thankfully, folks were full of suggestions. “Yep he’s a groomer! I’d pull my kid out of that class and school so fast,” wrote one. While that would protect one child, though, it wouldn’t stop the teacher from being inappropriate with others. To call both the teacher and the school out, many suggested Leah should simply go the press. “Call the news station!!” someone urged. “Give them the texts!!”
The most authoritative and helpful response came from a woman who claimed her husband works for a school district and “he says you need to IMMEDIATELY call CPS.” According to this woman’s husband, Child Protective Services should “always be the first call” in such situations, just in case — as is exactly happening here — the administrators don’t take the appropriate measures.
Thankfully, this is an example of TikTok being able to make a difference. In a follow-up, Leah — who clarified that she isn’t actually the mother of one of the girls, but they are a relative — confirms that thanks to suggestions, such as the above, the right people were called and the sixth-grade teacher was suspended. Although it’s still paid administrative leave, Leah notes that her family has been told that it’s “90%” guaranteed he won’t be returning to work in her district.
If you suspect that a child is being abused, neglected, or mistreated, Child Protective Services can be reached on 800-422-4453. Further information can be found here.